YMT Vacations Reviews

One of our favorite experiences on this tour (which meant getting up at 3:30 AM) was a sunrise walk along the southern rim of the Grand Canyon; followed by a wonderful breakfast at the El Tovar Hotel. Life simply doesn't get better than this. In my opinion, this is simply the best way to travel. I look forward to booking another vacation with YMT.

On the actual trip we were a 25 minute drive from downtown and there was nowhere to buy food for one and a half miles from the hotel. If you wanted to hear the choir you either had to make your own way or pay for an optional. Had we stayed downtown as the brochure and website stated there would have been no need for an optional - to pay for something that was free. Also the hotel we stayed in was less than half the price of the original hotel. We stayed two nights. I understand that sometimes one hotel has to be substituted for another but surely a downtown hotel should be substituted by another downtown hotel. The paying clients need to be informed of such a huge change and not be misled.

Also the customer rep who told me that we were actually staying downtown was either incompetent or lying. What happened to truth in advertising? What happened to customer service reps who listen and try to deal with an issue rather than just do their best to quickly get off the line? The tour itself was fine but this is obviously not an honest approach and who benefited from the money that YMT saved on the two nights in a "downtown" hotel?

A. 2 hours late picking 20 of us up on arrival at the airport. B. Stranded our entire group after a Luau (Not included, expensive & dreadful) until a tour guide from a different company let all of us on his bus & dropped us at our hotel. No apology and No responsibility for it. C. A lazy tour guide who was more interested in trying to be funny than doing his job. D. On the final day we had to be out of our rooms by 11 am with nothing planned by YMT, so everybody sat in the lobby until the bus arrived at 6 pm. Except for the incompetent Guide who stayed in his room until after 5 pm. Then 3 more hours until the flight left and more for others. Tried to complain to YMT, but they wouldn't accept any reviews even though the tour guide begged for an excellent one. VERY DISAPPOINTED!

We've since been told this tour was "discontinued because of lack of interest in September 2016" before we made the purchase! I believe it's fraud to sell something and take the money, for something you don't have. If we decided to take the "replacement trip" we are now losing time to have the excursions we would be interested in. We've asked to have all of our money returned since this trip wasn't even available when we booked it. The last person we talked to was a supervisor named "Janeen" and was told she would call us back within an hour. Three hours later they were closed, and now, into the next day, we're still waiting for her call. She could have, at the very least, called back (like she said she would). Still waiting for the final information to arrive, including flight information, that they told us was mailed out March 8. All the written information we've received, for this trip say Romantic Rhine, Dutch Windmills, and Germany Highlights.

Additional complications arose because YMT will not make air flight reservations until about 2 weeks before travel, even though we had paid trip reservations several months in advance. We requested adjacent air flight trips, which was also ignored. For a nine hour flight from Atlanta to Honolulu, our seats were several aisles apart. We had to pay an additional $138.00 in order to sit together on the flight. Several other couples in our group also were unable to sit together and were unable or unwilling to pay the extra $138.00 fee to Delta in order to sit together. I fault YMT 100% for not making reservations earlier.

Other trip complications arose as we were unable to visit Alcatraz Island as a side trip on our way back home because reservations could not be made due to YMT not making flight reservations until last minute. Without a specific schedule, it is impossible to know when we would arrive stateside, and when we could make concrete reservations for hotels and excursions.

Not only that, YMT charged us each $200.00 total ($400.00) for not flying directly back to Atlanta and stopping off in Los Angeles for a few days spent on the west coast. We were told that this is their standard fee to make any changes in flight schedules. Result? A lot of extra money in unadvertised charges totaling $568 for flight change and seat arrangement.

Second, if it were not for the Scotland coach driver, the tour guide would have been lost. On numerous occasions without the bus drivers input, the tour guide “Barbara” would have been totally ineffective. She would start a thought and just drop it because she did not have the facts to finish the thought, and followed it up by telling us she would have to look up the factoid on “Google”. She was totally impersonal, never saying “Good Morning” at the start of the day, and distanced herself from us whenever possible. In my assessment, she should not be allowed to continue in this capacity. In closing, we have taken two trips with YMT, the first and last. Please in the future, do not send us any of your promotional literature, because I will not use your services again, plus inform my friends considering your services, of the horrible experience, you’re a total rip off.

Imagine our surprise when we received our travel documents 10 days prior to departure stating a suggested amount for gratuities, side trips we could pay extra for and recommending that if we wanted more than water and coffee with meals we would need to purchase a beverage package for $299 a person! I immediately called and questioned the misinformation on the website. I was told by a supervisor that the deck plan page I had been directed to was in fact not a YMT website and therefore did not pertain to our trip. Nowhere on the link did the words "you are now leaving the YMT website" appear. I expressed my concern that this was bait and switch. I was told that another supervisor would call me back to discuss the miscommunication. I am still waiting.

The documentation we received was full of incorrect information. The hotel in Bern, Switzerland was listed as being in the Czech Republic which is 2 countries away from Switzerland. The last line of the travel documents stated "We are looking forward to greeting you in beautiful Germany." The trip was the Best of France and Switzerland. We never set foot in Germany! We did not embark on our trip with a very good feeling about YMT. The tour directors were very nice but not well prepared. On previous river cruises the tour guides had maps of the city and pamphlets for all of the sights that we would be seeing prior to arrival. All we had was one map that the tour guide passed through the bus so everyone could glance at it prior to arrival. We were then given directions to the Tourist Information office in each town so we could get our own maps and pamphlets. Not very professional.

I will say that in several cities, the tour guide at least walked with us to the Tourist Information city. Although the bus drivers were skilled at navigating the narrow streets, they weren't always well prepared to find our final destination. The day we arrived in Lyon to board the boat, we drove around Lyon for 20 minutes trying to find the access ramp to get to the boat. We could see the boat, but the driver could not find the ramp. Again, not very professional. This trip ended up being very much self guided which is not what we thought we were signing up for. This was a 50th wedding anniversary trip. Our travel confirmation stated that fact. At no time during the trip was there any acknowledgement of our special occasion. Very disappointing. Even cruise ships deliver a cake to your table when you have note a special event! The internet is not existent. I paid for access on board, as did most of the passengers.

Many days, no one could get online. We were told that we could go into town and access WiFi at McDonald's. Unfortunately, McDonald's as well as the small towns that have city WiFi require that you register your phone number and they will send you an access code by text. None of the passengers had cell phone voice or text therefore, we could not get access codes. The good news was that all of the hotels had free WiFi so for the 13 day trip there were only about 5 days that we had not access. The ship staff acknowledged that their internet was extremely poor. The passengers could pick up signals from all the river cruise boats we passed but not for the boat we were on and paying for WiFi access. We had airline miles so we booked our own air which meant we were on our own for transfers to and from the airports.

When we booked our trip, we were told that based on what the YMT agent was seeing, there was a shuttle from our final hotel to the airport. When we checked in to our hotel in Zurich we asked about booking the shuttle and were told they did not have a shuttle. Only their airport hotel had a shuttle. Apparently, the YMT agent was not looking at the correct Holiday Inn and therefore gave us incorrect information. Yet another surprise! We cannot recommend YMT due to misinformation, lack of information, poorly informed staff and poorly prepared drivers and guides.

Also in my package, I received someone else's name tag. I asked her to send me my name tag by email. Still waiting. Finally got our cabin numbers for the cruise and we are 63 cabins apart. Called customer service. They blamed it on Carnival. Called Carnival customer service. Even though our final payment was due in January, YMT did not book our cabins until March 26. Our cruise left on April 9. Again our guide in New Orleans, Don, was wonderful. I felt sorry for him when our bus load of passengers pulled up to the Holiday Inn and not enough rooms were booked for everyone. YMT customer service is the worst. I would rather have them tell me the ugly truth than a pretty lie.

To me the money I paid for the trip was well worth it and then some. I enjoyed Waterford, driving along the coast to the Causeways and Blarney Castles even though I chose to walk the gardens. I enjoyed the shops and did purchase quite a few items. I heard no complaints from the folks that traveled with me. I highly recommend this trip. In 2014 I also went to Western Parks and Hawaii. For 2016 I am booked for South America and Alaska. In all honesty I plan to do my travels with YMT. All aboard!!!

I am greatly impressed with the way YMT takes care of every detail! I could never plan, arrange and organize the way YMT does! Once the phone call was made for the Rhine River trip in 2012, the bus tour of Italy and Austria with our great tour manager Sonja in 2013, the Danube River cruise and tour in 2014, the Holland America cruise from Barcelona to Copenhagen in 2015, and the upcoming cruise and tour of France and Switzerland in 2016, YMT staff and executives have professionally made traveling an easy, relaxing, stress-free experience!

I never expected to be able to afford one trip, but YMT offers their tours at very reasonable and affordable prices without sacrificing anything - and I'll soon be on my fifth! Accommodations and meals are fantastic! And, oh, the sights on the tours are so awesome! The tour guides provide so many insights and so much information that I marvel at their knowledge! I highly recommend YMT VACATIONS! I get so very excited when discussing and recommending these YMT trips and YMT VACATIONS with family, friends, and even strangers! Yes! I'm a YMT MAINIAC (note the spelling... I live in MAINE!) They are the best!

The last trip was to Ireland. That was fantastic. Our guide/driver was Barry ** and the group was small enough (21 total) that he had extra time to visit with each guest frequently. I liked Italy but it was crowded. Ireland was magnificent because it was for the most part not crowded. I would return to both of these places and add Scotland to the list. Our next major adventure will probably be to Germany - and hopefully with YMT. My only criticism is the sometimes excessively long airport waits. Forget Newark, NJ airport. The best airline you put us on was Lufthansa - the worst was United. The best part of YMT is the guides and drivers. The cost factor is very good too.

A few days later I called to find out what has happened. I was told someone did call. But it was at my home phone number. When I originally told them not to. At that point I still could not speak to a supervisor and am STILL waiting. My other issue is that I have a specialist that I get comfortable booking trips with and then within a short time they no longer work there. That's a worry, what is going on? I have always told my friends about your great trips and they are but I am disappointed with the service I have received.

We did join the welcome dinner and checked into the hotel, the Beijing International Hotel, and we were very happy with the accommodation. The tour guide was very nice and pleasant, so we were happy with what we had seen to that point. My only complaint would be that Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City were closed to visitors for the week, due to a festival in Beijing. This was not the fault of YMT, but it was a disappointment.

Unfortunately my father fell gravely ill and after only one night in Beijing we had to cancel our trip and return home. We had purchased travel insurance, which I rarely do, and I am writing this review in part because of the service we received with the insurance. We received the refund less the one night hotel. We had no hassles in receiving the refund after providing the proper documentation of my father's hospitalization. They are a budget tour operator, and we didn't expect expect the same level of service from them, as we would a more expensive outfit. However, from what we saw, and our experience, we would use them again.

They have not booked me on the plane or hotel per my travel agent and intend on just keeping my money. Did I mention my travel agent replaced me with two other travels and YMT is making more money without me being there than me going. It is illegal to collect money for services/merchandise or policy that was not supplied to consumer. I feel they are just SCAMMING people and do not recommend on anyone going on their trips. They owe me over 2700.00...

A month later when I had still not received anything from them I canceled the trip. Of course, they would not refund the deposit even though they were clearly the ones that had not held up their end of the agreement by doing the bare minimum of sending a confirmation. I had no confidence that they could actually deliver the trip that I had reserved. We asked for a refund of our deposit and they refused, even though they did not meet their obligations to communicate with us and provide confirmation. They are unethical and have no concern for good customer service. I would never recommend this company.

Original Review: Jan. 6, 2015

In October 2014 I booked a tour of China that was to take place in September 2015. On YMT's website they had information about the tour and pricing through April. They verbally gave me pricing for the trip in September and I have them a $100 deposit and reserved the trip. 6 weeks later I had never received any sort of confirmation from them. No email, letter or even a receipt showing that I had paid $100 on my credit card. I called and told them I was uncomfortable not have some sort of written confirmation of what I had paid and the prices I was quoted and asked for a confirmation letter. A month later when I had still not received anything from them I canceled the trip. Of course, they would not refund the deposit even though they were clearly the ones that had not held up their end of the agreement by doing the bare minimum of sending a confirmation. I had no confidence that they could actually deliver the trip that I had reserved.

Problem again YMT 11 day - departed ship, now 3 buses of travelers, but no buses. Got on bus 1030 for a tour of Vancouver. Driver said we were late so no tour. Would explain sights as we drove. Next problem 3 buses at border so we spent nearly 2 hours waiting to get back into the States. Got to hotel in Seattle 415 pm. Our dinner reservation was for 5 pm. The room we were given wasn't cleaned - the whole 6 floor smelled. YMT representative got us a new room. Executive hotel suite Seattle. I asked about hotel to YMT rep said would check into. Now off to spaghetti diner. This was a joke, spaghetti and sauce, some bread, chicken, parm salad. Not worth $75. Over 75 people in room.

Day 12, our bags were put on bus and were taken to airport. 15 hours later, arrived home. I filled out YMT questionnaire just like this but when I submitted it, I was removed from their web site. I called YMT, talked to cust rep NOREEN, WAS GIVEN HER PHONE # TO REACH HER. I called to tell her about questionnaire and what happened. She said will send another, never happened. Talked with credit card company, said paid for stuff that never happened?? I know there is 50 other people that have same views, a lot of these people used YMT before, never a hitch. But when customer service ignores you, there is a big problem. I tried to change flights to earlier in day, said couldn't. Once they get your money they're careless. Alaska was outstanding, YMT wasn't. If you put on credit card, check into liability card will honor.

All hotels and tour guides were great, breakfast and city tours were included. One of everyone's favorite places was Rothenburg (search Google images). This was a beautifully preserved medieval town and we stayed in an old brewery, Altes Brauhaus, just like something out of a Bavarian story book and great Christmas stores.

CRUISE: Round trip from Passau to Budapest and back to Passau. We really liked this itinerary as we got to see some of the scenery twice. The stops on this 7 day cruise were: Melk, Vienna, Esztergom, Budapest, Bratislava, and Linz (with optional Salzburg tour). POST- CRUISE: Back to Munich for Oktoberfest Lunch.

Pros:The ship was beautiful - New and modern. The crew spoke English and were incredibly helpful. Service was fantastic. There were only 176 passengers and we liked that we got to know the CD, program director, waiters and reception personnel quite well -Could never do this on an ocean cruise. Big staterooms and showers. Lots of storage (more than any ocean cruise ship we have been on). Loved the French balconies, they turned your whole room into a balcony. And many times it was too cool to be sitting on a balcony, so then we were glad we had a bigger room (no balcony take up space), and the floor to ceiling windows to look out. Very comfortable beds and bedding.

The food: Breakfast buffet was quite extensive with an omelet/egg station. Lunch was a soup, salad, cold cut buffet with a fresh pasta station AND then 2 entry choices and a dessert that were ordered from a menu. Tea-time in the lounge with coffee/teas and cake buffet. Dinner was a set-time table service (7pm). Usually 2 appetizer choices, a soup and 3 dinner choices. All food was beautifully presented and very tasty -Very good to excellent. There was a late night snack buffet at 11pm.

Second Helpings : One thing we really liked was that after dinner, the waiters brought around trays of food and served second helpings. If you were still hungry, there were seconds, or if you would like to try the other entry, you could have a helping for a taste. Great idea and I am sure this cut down on waste in the kitchen (plate a moderate size helping and then offer people more if they want it).

The itinerary, tours and guides. On the European-marketed, cruise ships tours are all optional so this is what we got as well. This worked out OK as we could pick and choose which tours we wanted to go on. The cheaper overall trip price reflected this. We really liked all the tours and guides, and each tour did include the individual whisperers audio boxes. Tour prices were quite reasonable and competitive (unlike some of the ocean cruise tours). You could sign up ahead of time or on the ship, or you could book your own private tours.

On the land tour, all tours were included. There was a great balance of bus time vs. city and walking time. Local folk artists were brought on board in Esztergom and sailed to Budapest with us. These women embroidered shirts and painted eggs and sold their wares at a very inexpensive price (much better prices than the market in Budapest).

The lower price for the tour reflects this option. (I definitely do not consider this nickel and dining but choice).

CONS: These issues were of minor consequence to us, but thought I would point them out. There really was very little to complain about, but coffee seemed to be the only one we heard about. Coffee was not hot and was late arriving after meals. Many people went up to the stations and helped themselves if they wanted coffee with their meals (meals at dinner seemed to be planned to the minute and were not very flexible). Live Entertainment on the ship was pretty much non-existent. In Budapest a local band came on board (pop music not folk music) and they were very well received, but the other nights there was just our disc jockey Sven (who was lots of fun). But poor Sven was the yoga teacher, art teacher, and whatever else was needed. He was a great sport. Internet was inconsistent on the ship. We had a hard time connecting when we were in Slovakia or Hungary. Austria was OK. Good thing was that the price was only 15 euros for the week, so it was worth it to get some some service. Wine was not included with dinner, but was a very reasonable price. (2.20 Euros for a small glass and 4.50 euros for a large glass).

The hotels were what they said, and I had 3 and 4 star accommodations. When in Dublin, get a taxi to give you a tour of the sights, then when you know where you want to walk, walk it. Don't forget to buy some Butler's chocolates when you walk by their shop!! (I really liked the caramel chocolate chews). Ask your driver if he will play Irish music while on the bus. He will still be able to hear himself talk, but it will break up the time pretty well to listen to the music and it will bring Ireland alive for you. INSIST ON MUSIC... IRISH MUSIC OF COURSE, if you are on the Ireland tour. Also... don't let the driver's talk you out of using the restroom on the bus. USE IT IF YOU NEED TO. They don't want to clean them, but it is part of their job and you get the final say when the tour is done... tipping wise.

Enjoy Belfast... and go on the extra tours they offer...Giant's Causeway and the Titanic. They will be great for you. Be careful if it's windy at Giant's Causeway. Ireland is very happy for the American tourists because we spend money and that's what's keeping them afloat right now. Spend the money people... on good food, a Claddaugh ring, and on the many fun things to do. If the beer tastes different, it's because another company bought out Guinness, but still, enjoy listening to the pub music. Consider this a "once in a lifetime" event, or book another tour. If it's a once a year trip... good on ya. My husband met me after my bus tour, and we spent another two weeks in wonderful Ireland and the Cornish Coast of beautiful England. As a single traveler with YMT, the people on the bus had me out to be an FBI agent or a private investigator... Whatever I was, I was happy to be in Ireland once again. I had John ** as a driver and he was a very nice gentleman. Thank you, John **. And remember... take the good with the bad and ENJOY IRELAND!!!

We experienced similar experiences at two other restaurants on the tour. Upon my arrival home, I immediately wrote YMT's president and director of guest experience and Buckingham Palace regarding the above. I received a timely reply from Buckingham Palace indicating my concerns were passed on to the appropriate person but received no response from YMT. I can only assume they approve of the racist practices. I won't promote them nor do I plan to use them again.

The hotel in Victoria did not even have air conditioning. Never heard of a hotel without air conditioning. There were several attractions which I would have enjoyed seeing but no time allotted, i.e. Chihuly Glass museum near the Space Needle in Seattle. We had an optional tour of Seattle waterfront but not enough time allotted and then we went to view Space Needle from the outside. Now the last day of the tour, we had an optional tour of going up to the observation deck of the Space Needle so if we were going there the last day, what was the point of going up the first night. We could have spent more time at the waterfront. Did not get to see Pike Place Market which I really wanted to see.

Most tours which I have taken in the past, the tour guide has been available 24/7. This tour company apparently doesn't think the customer should have any access to tour guide after 5:00 pm. The seat rotation on the bus was deplorable. We were assigned seats. What are we, first graders who don't know how to find a seat. Some people got special treatment with regards to seats because they complained to the tour guide while others were denied requests. I would not recommend this tour company to anyone and I certainly am not going to use their services again.

We had to travel for two days on the bus from Berlin to our boat approximately 21 hours. We stopped for the night in a small hotel where the evening meal and breakfast were not very good. In the past three years, I have had double knee replacement and I am 6'6" tall. She would not allow me to remain in the front row seat which gave me a little more leg room. When we booked this cruise, we were led to believe by the sales rep we were getting a suite, which it wasn't and I don't think there are any on this ship.

The side tours were expensive and misleading. On one walking tour, we could not keep up with the pace and was left behind 3 times. On the 3rd time, we left the tour and caught a cab into town. I walk well and a lot, but not power type walking. I complained about the tour guide to the YMT reps when we got to the ship, but as far as I could tell when we rejoined the land portion, nothing changed.

I do not expect a refund, even though I was told they would refund the walking tour. I certainly do not expect a credit on a future tour as we will never book a future tour with YMT. I just want other people to know what to expect. I know there were a lot of disgruntled people on this tour, and many were repeat customers.

On our second day, there was free time in the morning with plans to see floats being made that evening. If time permitted, my husband and I wanted to rent a car and drive up the coast. To do that, we needed to know if it was possible and what time we had to be back to catch the bus for our float making tour. We were assigned a bus number, but even a few days before departure, YMT could not tell us what time we would be leaving for the float tour. We needed to know what time we should be back but no YMT representative could tell us. I was even asked, "Why do you need to know? You'll find out when you get there." This is not an acceptable response. While they repeatedly reminded us that they had to move masses of people, they also repeatedly told us that they had been doing this tour since about 1979. We finally concluded YMT should be organized by 2013 and be good at moving masses, but they weren't.

We received our final itinerary about one week before departure. My husband usually looks over our itinerary, but I luckily noticed that our flight time had been changed without any notification. We had expressly informed YMT we did not want to take a flight that required us to be at the airport at 4:00am as our friends were going. YMT scheduled us to depart on a 9:00am flight. When I noticed the flight change, I immediately called YMT. I was very upset that they had changed our flight that would require us to be at airport at 4:00 am; we specifically said we didn't want that! It was more disturbing that no one from the airline or YMT called us about the change. The YMT representative said the airline had cancelled the original flight, and the airline could not call us as they didn't have the necessary information. That meant that YMT was notified of the flight cancellation/change but failed to call and inform us. After some heated discussion, we were changed to an 8:30 flight.

However, when we went online to print out our boarding pass 24 hours before the flight, we found out that our names were not on the flight manifest. We called YMT and they advised us to call the airline. The airline said they couldn't give us any information as flight manifests are placed in hands of the airport 24 hrs before the flight. We called YMT back and the representative told us to go to the airport and we "should" be on the flight. Upon arrival, we found that our names were on the flight list but YMT had not requested seat assignments. The airline we were using did do seat assignments, they just didn't do their job. It was likely that we would not be together during the flight. This experience started our trip on a bad note, to say the least. Those at YMT did not do their jobs

Once we arrived in LA, our experiences with YMT did not get any better. Our bus was late at every departure; the bus delays were from 1/2 hour to 1 1/2 hrs every day. Our guide, who never arrived until the last minute, never announced or explained the reason for any of the daily delays. It was especially disturbing when you are told to meet at 6:00am and you are still standing 1-1/2 hrs later. That is upsetting. Many guests were agitated and angry; at no time was there any announcement from guide before departure. I dislike drive-by tours so I specifically asked if our tour of LA would be drive-bys. I was told no, our bus will be making stops at points listed in their brochure. The LA tour for the most part ended up being a drive-by. We flashed through Rodeo Drive so fast you didn't have time to even read store names. We were to drive by various stars' homes - we saw one. If you looked quick enough, you would have seen it. Our guide said you don't want to drive by other homes because you won't see any stars. Duh! That’s not what the brochure said.

Then our bus parked on a rear lot near Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We were told to be back on the bus in half an hour. As with any of our stops, our guide stayed with the bus and did bother to give a guided tour; with such limited time, it would have been nice for our guide to be a guide. We did notice another YMT guide walking with his guests, but our guide always stayed with the bus. The time at stops was much too brief and with no guide, we felt we missed points of interest: (1) Old Town for 1/2 hr; (2) Balboa Park for 20 minutes; and (3) Joshua Park, a 15-minute stop. Another time, we had 1 hour, but that included finding a place to eat, be served, and hope to have time to look around.

Our tram ride optional tour was late in the day. The sun was already setting, and we had total darkness on our way down. There was another YMT bus at top of the mountain. As we disembarked, we were told to wait inside until our guide came in. There was no place for a large group to stand and we got jostled by the many other visitors. We felt since two YMT guides were on site, one guide could have or should have come inside and the other handle matters outside. On our return tram ride, we were told to be in line for a 6:30pm descent. Then we were told our descent would be delayed and we'd leave at 7:00pm. Then no, they said to get out of line outside the roped area and move into line with other tram riders; and then no, get out of that line and move once again and line up outside the roped area. This is another example of YMT not being organized and not making pre-arrangements to accommodate its guests for either the ascent or descent. Poorly organized

Our hotels were okay but were located too great a distance from any points of interest, not within walking distance of any points of interest. In a place with so many places to stay, the hotels selected by YMT were much too far out of town.

I would have to say the disorganization of YMT was especially disturbing, but the main complaint of the trip also had to include the lack of skills, poor attitude, and lack of interest by our guide. He never got off the bus to guide us anywhere, he gave short answers to questions, and often did not know answers and never offered to find out and get back with an answer; nothing good can be said about the guide. The guests were so dissatisfied with the guide that we learned that many fellow travelers either reduced the guide's tip or didn't pay him any tip.

I wrote a letter of my complaints to YMT offering them as being justified but constructive criticism. Weeks passed and there was no response from YMT. I did receive a brochure about an upcoming YMT trip. Only after I wrote a second note did I get a response. I know there were others who wrote YMT about our trip. I can also note that during our time at the airport on our return, other people from our tour group approached me and told me how dissatisfied they were with YMT and the guide. Future trips with YMT would not happen, and they would not recommend YMT to anyone.

In the three major cities, if you did not sign up for the optional tour, no maps, information, or assistance was provided. On the three long bus drives, the TD never provided local information on history, culture, economy, politics, etc. The rest stops badly planned as 88 people descended on stops with only 2-3 toilets in each room. Much time was lost getting to destinations (See Rothenberg). On board the beautiful new Tui Melodia, the food looked fantastic but tasted bland. The TD was frazzled by the smallest changes in schedule, becoming surly and uncommunicative to everyone, including the hotels. Naturally, we 88 suffered from the subsequent inattentive service. YMT is known as a low cost tour provider. But when you don't get the services you paid for, when you don't see the sights you paid for, when the food on a new luxury river boat is inferior to what you paid for, then the tour becomes expensive. In conclusion, this is not the company to travel with for any budget level.

One hotel was brand new and the location of all hotels was convenient for the times we were on our own. No complaints here. We feel we received our full money's worth and look forward to continuing our relationship with YMT. Our tour guide in Ireland, "Barry", was amazing. He showed a lot of pride in his country and its history. He was a wealth of knowledge both current and historical. Wish we could be certain of having him as our guide on our next trip. So YMT, thanks for a great vacation!

Accommodations on land were pretty poor - they put us in a Holiday Inn in Seattle-Renton, Washington and it was not up to my usual expectations. It was very noisy (above, outside the windows, and outside the door - in the hall). The sheets were dirty the first night. We had paid for a tour of Seattle the night before the cruise and I will admit it was a good tour for the price. The morning of the cruise, we were taken on another tour of Seattle (different than we'd paid for) and got to the cruise terminal to stand in line for 45 minutes and get to the buffet on board the ship just in time to get a plate of food and then the buffet was shut down. I wasn't a happy camper to say the least. After the cruise, we were greeted at the cruise terminal by YMT who parked nearly two blocks away.

Everyone, no matter the age or health condition, had to pull their own luggage the two blocks away or pay for a porter. Then we were taken on a tour of the city (again) and, lo and behold, it was the same tour that some of us had paid for before the cruise. Then back to the same Holiday Inn that still wasn't ready for us, so we had to wait for our rooms with all of the other 100 people. In the morning, we boarded a bus for the Amtrak station. We were told to put our luggage outside our rooms to be picked up and loaded on the buses. Everyone did as told, and yet, 5 couples' luggage was not picked up from the hotel and they were made to stand outside the bus until their luggage was located. Surprise, surprise, it was outside their doors, where it had not been picked up.

As we boarded the Amtrak, we found out why we were not given a balcony as we thought we were getting. Only those who had a balcony on board the ship were allowed the larger sleeper rooms on the train. No one had told us this before the trip - it might have changed what we decided to do or at least what to expect. No one from YMT accompanied us on the train. When problems arose or something needed to be done on the train, we had no leader, except the radio personality who was touring with us. She hadn't expected to have to do any of this. She thought the tour that they were promoting was supposed to do it all. It was a different group in San Francisco who met us at the train terminal. Luckily, we didn't have to walk so far to get to the bus this time, but we were made to stand outside in 90+ degree sun before we were allowed to get on the bus.

Because YMT had trouble with luggage on a previous trip, they didn't want anyone getting on the bus until everyone had touched their luggage. Problem was, if anyone's luggage was left on the train, it would have been too late, because as we stood in a single file line while they unloaded and lined up our luggage, our train left and another train came and left - too late, if they left any of our luggage on the train. We finally got on the bus and then were sent on a tour of wineries in Sonoma without a tour guide - except for the bus driver. When the tour group decided they didn't want to go to the second winery, we were told we'd paid for it and we were going whether we wanted to or not. That put the bus driver in a very awkward position.

The Holiday Inn in San Francisco was a very nice hotel. It was right on the bay and located so that it was easy to ride the electric buses to Fisherman's Wharf. YMT took us on a great tour for overlooking all the famous sites, but didn't take us to any of the famous sites - that seemed to be reserved for those who wanted to pay extra for touring. Luckily, I planned to stay in San Francisco an extra 3 days and got a very good tour of the city, but had to pay quite a bit more for what I should have already seen. To sum it all up - I will not use YMT again. The radio personality was not real pleased either with the tour and took quite a few notes which she planned to feedback to YMT.

Before we paid, they will tell you anything to get your money. A lot of lies, I can tell you. Dirty hotels are described on the phone and in their literature as clean and pleasant. Don't you believe it! My parents were forced to stay at places not much better than filthy rat-holes more than once on their tour. Their tour bus driver was nice and helpful, but couldn't really do anything about the condition of hotels and even the bus which was very uncomfortable. My mother and father were treated like cattle rushed on and off the tour bus and more than once places they were supposed to have time to enjoy were almost just driven right by. Bad hotels, bad food, lies, and terrible customer service! How does this horrible company stay in business treating older people like this? Last point. Did we talk to management? You know we did and that was a frustrating and pointless exercise. They couldn't give a damn. Stay away from this company.

After I returned home, I called YMT Tours and they admitted it was their mistake and even mentioned the name of the female agent who had made the error. I never received even an apology, much less any refund. The bus portion of the tour was a joke. At one park, we were given an hour when a day would have been too short. Wildlife consisted of a few tired bears in a roadside tourist trap. The hotels were crummy and the dining choices disgusting. Don't go the YMT way!

The bus driver was non-communicative the entire bus tour and there was no tour guide. We had no idea where we were throughout the entire bus ride. We did not know what state or city we were traveling through, we were just riding. We had problems with our luggage being misplaced by the YMT staff. Believe it or not, they claimed they could not find our luggage for two days in their own sponsored hotels and on their tour bus. It seems when you have a problem, there is no one to talk with and no one follows through despite my many requests. Here is a prime example of their complete incompetence. The president of the company, Jerry **, was riding on our tour bus during the New York portion of our tour and on the cruise. We told him of our concerns and he said he would mail us a certificate that would allows us to travel to any YMT Vacation of our choice for free.

Big surprise, it's now February and I am still waiting for my voucher for my free trip (not that I would take it, as once in hell was enough). However, I would gladly take an apology and a refund on the upgraded cabin portion of my cruise. According to the many consumer complaints on the world wide web, this type of consumer hoodwinking by YMT Vacations appears to be the norm. Please, please do your research about YMT Vacations. I only wish I knew then what I know now, run like a scaled rat. Again, please do your research and stay away from YMT Vacations unless you like throwing away your money and living in hell for two plus weeks of a vacation.

Problem: Bus driver worked 14hours to 16hours every day for 12days straight. On the 12th day driver slept about 4 hours before driving us from Rapid City SD to Denver, CO. I brought up the issue. The driver Augie ** said there was no problem with fatigue. My take is that safety was compromised, the risk for an accident was increased. I will not tour again with YMT because they work their drivers too hard. The tour was a good buy for the money. We got our money's worth. However, the driver also acted as the guide and his knowledge was insufficient to cover a long trip through the Rockies.

Once on board the bus, our driver then told us this was a first-time tour and asked for our patience. As a business owner myself, I was shocked to be welcomed by a company representative, the company having charged us full price and then advising us we needed to be patient as the itinerary and stops might not be what we had paid for! We hoped for the best and were initially impressed with our driver Thomas. However, it soon became obvious that this brand-new tour itinerary and three-bus move (150 people) had not been properly planned or researched.

One hundred and fifty plus seniors were subjected to overly long driving distances between lunch and bathroom stops, ridiculous wait lines for the bathrooms, museums, and hotel keys; and they were frustrated and annoyed daily by museums and stores which were not even open, hotels with no restaurant or bar on site or even within walking distance, a single elevator to accommodate over one hundred people (two buses), and two weeks of only fast food with no lunch stops or hotels near high-end or even family restaurants.

The tour stops and distances were obviously calculated via computer. With 150 paying customers and to protect the company's reputation, YMT should have paid someone to drive the route, checking distances. One day, we went 7 hours between breakfast and the lunch stop. We missed seeing Gallup entirely, when the itinerary promised over 100 trading posts, shops, and galleries.

The Grand Canyon and Balloon Fiesta were lovely. Sadly, our stay in the famous Sedona was very, very short.

One of the destinations I was looking forward to was Santa Fe. We were there less than two hours! We also dropped off at the church on Columbus Day when all the museums, including the Georgia O'Keefe Centre, were closed. As we arrived around 4 pm, even the natives who were selling their wares in the park were already packing up! Several of us planned to pick up a piece of the jewellery that was so often referred to in the brochure, when we returned in the morning. Then we were told on the way back to the hotel that we would not be returning to Santa Fe in the morning, as the distance between the hotel and downtown was too far.

The stop in Lincoln was interesting, but we were told by museum staff that if someone had just called to let them know we were coming, we would have had a ranger here to do a presentation. There was much to see and read all of it which are authentic, but few could manage in the time allotted, and a ranger could have given an overview.

A wonderful old restaurant, itself a museum, was open when we arrived, but after one passenger ordered a salad (by now, we knew we might be late to lunch or have only fastfood options) and mentioned there were three buses, the owner closed the restaurant, saying if it was known that we were coming, they could have been prepared. Other stores were not even open for business this early, and certainly, they would have been more than happy to open early for three-bus loads of potential customers.

Again, at the White Sands Missile Range, staff were surprised by the arrival of three buses. In fact, the museum was closed. They opened it for us but appeared quite upset and said to wait for it and that if they had been told we were coming, they would have had rangers here to give the presentations and tours. All for the sake of one phone call.

No one understood why the three buses had to stay together and couldn't stagger their times by just 20 minutes. We stopped at a roadside public washroom with all three buses--150+ seniors with bladder problems and eight washroom stalls. This is bordering on criminal. People were afraid to use the bus toilet as passengers on bus number 3 were complaining about the smell by the fourth day, and the driver said they could not or would not stop to have the toilet emptied before the end of the tour.

I believe only one driver knew the area, and the other buses wanted to follow her. But I would have preferred to be lost for half an hour (drivers had cell phones and walkie-talkies) than arrive at each lunch stop with two buses--every hotel with two buses and over 50 couples waiting for their keys, then one hundred people waiting in the hotel lobby for a single elevator. I was helping an 82-year-old woman up two flights of stairs, as she said she was just too tired to wait the half hour for the elevator.

There was no tour guide, and the bus driver was often driving with one hand and holding the microphone or his cell phone with the other. The bus driver was not familiar with the area, so we paid $1200 not for a tour but for transportation and poor-to-moderate accommodation in sub-standard locations.

For the cost paid by one person of the 150, someone could have been paid to drive and research the route , identified places to pull off and eat, checked out the hotels, confirmed the driving distances, and made sure there was at least one restaurant and hopefully two within walking distance of all hotels. We truly had two full weeks of only fastfood restaurants, and I only recall twice when there was any place to go for a cocktail.

Once, we walked the extra distance (many could not) to a Golden Coral to have the buffet. Once there in a Mexican restaurant that offered some regular food, I took two outfits, planning to go out to dinner on a trip that cost us $6,000 with air and food but had no chance to use either of them.

I wish I had done some research and read the many, many horrible reviews of this tour company before we booked.

Then I was to offer to put a hold on the tickets by getting the credit card number, etc. and saying the charge would be applied that night, unless the customer called and cancelled. That was supposed to give the customer time to discuss the tour with her or his spouse. It was stated that a lot of older people would forget they had to call and cancel, or they wouldn't get to talk to the spouse in time, because the office closed at 5pm and all work had to be completed, including the credit card charges. Oh yeah, the amount needed to hold the tickets? $200. Needless to say, many credit cards were charged $200 for a tour never taken. Non-refundable, of course.

With no response from them I used the hotel's computer and booked a flight myself from Tampa. What terrible service--no representative on the tour, no one to contact in event of an emergency. This caused me much grief and undue stress in an already stressful time. I don't expect any money back from the trip but I'd like everyone to know this tour company is only interested in collecting their money! I saw a representative once only when she called out our names for the bus.

In January 2010, I was notified that my 11 year old grandson, who is physically handicapped, would need brain surgery to remove half his brain to relieve him of his seizures. This week, we received the date of his surgery which is scheduled for April 7th. The cruise is April 30th. The surgery is to be performed in NYC (3 hrs from our home) and he will be hospitalized for a minimum of three weeks with months of recoup at home. First, I will be needed to babysit my 9 year old granddaughter, while her parents are in the city with her brother. Secondly, upon his return home for recoup, my daughter will need my help in keeping her home and family and the everyday chores of running a household.

I asked YMT if I could have my brother go in my place. Mind you, I did not want a refund or a cancellation. All I wanted to do is change the name of the client. Their would be no need to change cabins or air travel, nothing. Just change the name of the person traveling. They refused! They would not budge. They, in essence, told me too bad. Would anyone out there reading of this leave their daughter or grandson during brain surgery to take a cruise? Am I asking too much? I called the cruise line MSC directly and they told me that for $50.00 if I had booked directly through them they would be happy to make a change. If it is so easy to do why wouldn't YMT's.

I called the airline and they too for a fee would change the passenger name, but not YMT's. This is a warning to anyone planning a trip, do not call Your Man Tours. I am a seasoned traveler, been on seven cruises, fly around the world as a senior and never have I encountered this type of stupidity. Remember seniors out there with the resource to travel, stay away from Your Man Tours!

I am 69 years old, a retired RN and can't afford 2 trips or to have Your Man Tours hold my money for 2 years! My daughter reserved us a cruise to Alaska along with her 13 years old son. She did this to be able to use up these vouchers, at my request. She was told by Shaylee that she would receive literature and a DVD on the trip. That never happened. My daughter tried calling this company numerous times to have the balance due placed on her credit card. No one returned her calls. On the 4th call, she reached Leslie who informed my daughter that they cancelled our trip. My daughter emailed Consumer Affairs.

Leila called to tell her, after my daughter cancelled her vacation at the hospital where she works, that we could take the trip on another ship with an update. We never knew initially which ship we would be traveling on. Leila told my daughter if she emailed an addendum, she would get her $150 credited. On 5/15/09, when I asked for a refund of my $400 since my daughter was getting a credit, she said "Oh no, your daughter doesn't have to email an addendum. She can say anything she wants."

I am not a seasoned traveler, but I believe I should have been given a cancel by date and the ability to obtain insurance to protect me if cancellation occurs. I hope this reaches all seniors to avoid anyone else being duped by this company. They are in it for the almighty buck, not for the well-being of the consumer. Thank you.

The hotels, though not spectacular, were adequate, clean and in good locations. The Hawaii guides were well informed, took care of all our airport transfers and did an excellent job showing us the Hawaiian Islands. Most of the sightseeing was included and we could spend free time on extra sightseeing tours if we wanted to. We did take some including the Polynesian Cultural Center, which is worthwhile. We decided to spend some time at leisure and not sightsee all the time. What was nice is we could decide while there. Father Rock was wonderful and very funny. Overall, we were well satisfied and would recommend Your Man Tours to anyone. We plan to travel with YMT again.

I just wanted this to appear here because other folks on our tour also read these complaints and almost missed out on a great vacation because of them. We honestly don't know how YMT can do this tour so inexpensively for what we got. There were a few people on the tour doing it for their second time and one couple who does it every year. I'm not related to or connected to YMT in any way but my two adult children and I would love to go again.

The many hours and days we spent in the bus were awful. Most of the motels were just fair, and some were really run down. The bus driver was also the guide. We stopped at places like the museum of a local Artist, Walls Drugs, The Corn Palace, Cabela's, eating in fast food places.

The only good thing was the Canadian part of the trip.

We were lucky to be on bus #4 because the other three buses continued to break down, had problems climbing hills, of which there were many. I know that if we had been on those vehicles, this report would be very different.

Our only complaint about any part of the trip was the hotels we stayed at in Penticton, BC (Sandman Hotel, which was dirty and the air conditioner did not work, blew out hot air. The hotel staff was less than helpful.) At the Ramada Inn in Seattle, we were given a smoking room, told could not change as no non smoking available and the room was dirty, curtains falling down, safety railing across window was broken and the bathroom was filthy, with walls covered with mold and mildrew. Could not wait to get out of there.

The cruise was everything we had expected and we feel we got everything that we paid for and more, even with the problems listed above. I do feel that YMT could find better lodging for their clients in areas where a choice can be negotiated. The lodging in Jackson Hole, WY was better than these two major cities. Cut a few extra dollars from the bottom line and give the clients better lodging, which we all expected.

Our dealings with YMT was somewhat unsettling, as always had to wait for return call, but they always came sooner or later.

You post the positive reviews... how about a negative & what you did to resolve it?

I just finished writing the BBB about my mother-in-law's experience with your company (Your Man Tours).

My husband spoke *in person* via phone with YMT VP Chuck Supnick earlier today, who, believe it or not, commented that's unfortunate to the issue as explained to him. I am appalled & so mad I could *spit nickels* (as my dear grandmother was fond of saying)!

My mother-in-law (60+ year old widow) has never traveled. After this experience, she will probably never travel again. She and three of her lady friends booked a tour with an agent in Mississippi through Your Man Tours... looked forward to this vacation for over six months, spent her Christmas money on the deposit. Finally the day (8 June, 2007, yesterday) comes and the ladies are whisked away by loving family and friends to the Monroe, LA airport (about an hour drive from where they live).

Who could have known that would be the day some fool programmer wrote bad code into the air traffic control computers, shutting down Atlanta, and overloading Salt Lake City? Okay, things happen, flights get delayed/canceled... the airline rerouted the missed connection, and although the ladies had to travel all night, they finally made it to Boston (with all of their luggage, believe it or not).

The problems didn't end there! Last night, my husband called the hotel where the ladies were supposed to stay. He was assured someone would come to collect them in the morning when their new flight arrived and ferry them back to the hotel, no problem. This morning... no shuttle. They called the hotel and were told no one could help them and were advised to take a taxi to the cruise ship terminal at the Port of Boston. Pay for a taxi? Everything including all shuttle transportation was to have been handled through YMT! They totally missed the bus tour of Boston...

Okay, never mind that - taxi to cruise terminal. Arrive at Holland America to be told the ship wouldn't be boarding for several hours. They'd have to wait... which wouldn't have been so bad IF they hadn't been traveling all night, IF they had had a decent meal, IF they had rested... and IF they had a decent place to wait! From what I understand, they waited on a bench, outside, all morning and half the afternoon with their baggage around their feet - and with dead cell phones.

We finally got hold of Holland America who went through several channels to try to confirm these four elderly ladies eventually actually boarded the ship. They did - no thanks to YMT - who basically took their money, made reservations, and then washed their hands of the rest - saying that's unfortunate.

The company responds:

YMT Vacations feels that the post by "C Denny" is inaccurate and designed to mislead the reader. This is chiefly due to leaving out key facts relating to the efforts made by YMT to address these problems and concerns. Most importantly, we feel that "C Denny" is propagating an unfortunate disservice herein to the traveling public at large.

YMT has completed our research and investigation into this matter in detail. We did so in order to re-confirm that our efforts were swift, professional and effective. Our Vice President of Tour Development responded to "C Denny's" concerns in a proper and timely manner. He extended apologies that this trip did not begin with a smooth start even though these problems were in no way caused by YMT. He accounted for the decisions YMT had made (and their rationales) pertaining to the travelers situation.

Because the group of four would not arrive in enough time to meet the motor coach the morning they were scheduled to do so, the best option was for them to head directly to the cruise terminal. The tour guides on the motor coaches were instructed to check and make sure that the group had made it on board when they arrived, which they did; the tour did not get to the terminal until around 12:30 PM, and to their knowledge the four were already on board because embarkation had al ready commenced. (The Vice Presidents letter recounted the chain of communication that ensued from this situation, and has been summarized for privacy).

Per his letter, not knowing all of the behind the scenes efforts can also make it appear as if there was no effort made to assist these passengers, when in fact, there was constant communication concerning these passengers and what would be their best case solution.

A member of YMTs consumer affairs department was assigned to the file; the matter was followed-up accordingly and explained that because the airlines were the source of the delay, the matter of reimbursement for expenses incurred needed to be directed to them. Each of the four members in this group was issued a $100 voucher for a future trip as a means of courtesy.

YMT feels that this matter with "C Denny" has been addressed appropriately and thoroughly, and is therefore a closed matter.

He told us we have the worst bus because it had no power steering and he had not done this route before but the only thing he knew was don't use the toilet. He subsequently made jokes about Baptists and Apache people.

All food stops were junk food and a long walk for my traveling companion who is disabled and uses a cane.
The tour in Yellowstone we were told, was closed in the bear area, although people from Thomas Cooke tours had been there less that a half hour before.

Chad drove right by the Lower Falls, the main event of Yellowstone because he got lost and thought he was on the Tower Falls Rd. The passengers had to yell out to him to stop and go back. He gave us 10 minutes which was insufficient time to walk to the top and see the falls unless you are a sprinter.

He then went to the wrong hotel after telling us we were getting upscale Holiday Inn at budget prices. In fact, we went to a back street hotel with dead flies in the toilet, no elevator (disabled had to stand in line to change rooms) a nasty broken pool full of algae.

There were no tour guides on any part of the trip. On May 13, Sunday Chad spent the bus trip having an extensive personal conversation with the front seat passengers about his new jimmie car, his mother, the fact that he doesn't wear a seat belt. He did not address the bus as a whole at any time until we stopped because he said it was a dangerous road. How can he carry on a conversation with only two people if it's so dangerous.

Continued at length about Canada being superior to the US. EG: his mother has leased real estate in Canada and if she has a law suit the looser pays but in the US the government pays. The is blatantly false.

On no occasion did we stop for decent food. It was all Arby's, McDonalds and other junk food. Chad told us that at every stop it was the best hamburger. Some of us don't eat meat and hamburger is not good food.

I have been on twelve previous bus tours with other companies and every hotel had suites and a happy hour when we arrived. The hotels we stopped at had store bought cookies and our room wasn't ready so we had to sit in the lobby.

Sometimes we were given false information. EG: 3 trillion tons of water moving at 1,000 mph went through this canyon. That would mean it was moving at supersonic speed. Hardly likely!

People with disabilities were unable to see items mentioned on the tour
People suffered insult or discrimination based on religion.

We paid a very reasonable price for a two week tour to all four of the Hawaiian Islands.

We had guides on each island,hotels were average,the included sightseeing was enough to show us the highlights of each island, plus plenty of free time to do what we wanted to do.

We don'tlive far from their office so we went to see them before we made our reservations. They have a large facility near the Los Angeles airport.

The agent we worked with was very nice and attentive.

The only negative was that we could not pay our final payment with our credit card.

We were always instructed in a group as to what to expect and what was to come. We were taken as planned to our boat and had a very nice 10 day cruise around the Islands. At the end of the cruise the Company representative was there at the dock to receive us. They then took us and our luggage and we went on another tour which lasted the rest of the day. They delivered us to the airport and we got our flight home. All in all we were very pleased with how well organised the whole trip was and how knowledgeable the tour guides were.

When we contacted YMT they said that we had to give a minimum of 7 days notice to cancel a flight....We had only received our tickets 4 days before. In Rome we booked extra tours and payed (Kuoni tours) YMT agent in Rome 170 Euros for 2 tours. after the first tour we cancelled the second tour and were to receive a refund of 80 euros which we never received and were charged on our visa bill when we returned home.

This was the worst tour we have ever been on -- unorganised and the people of Kuoni Tours were rude to us They left us in Rome (11 people) for 2 hours with no apologies and when we contacted them we were told to take a taxi back to the hotel at our own expense. (for their mistake) We will never travel with YMT again as they do not live up to their brochure promises. This tour was to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and it was a holiday from HELL

Any client who complains is blamed for misunderstanding the brochure. These misunderstandings cover almost all aspects of this trip but all detracted from a good relaxing holiday. Three hundred of us coming from Canada and northern US all appear to have misunderstood what we could expect from this holiday.

We knew that this was an affordable tour, but we did not expect substandard, dirty accommodations; transportation with no tour guides as promised; the total lack of communication and rudeness from YMT.

Your Man Tours did not live up to the promise of their brochure.

Other people on tour stayed at the Best Western and were given free breakfast. This was not the case at Travel Lodge. Our tour bus was number 6, driven by Melba, who is experienced in RUDENESS. We were not told to pack an over night bag, so we wore the same clothes for two days, she would not get our main luggage so we could get our medicine, change of clothes or personal items. Tour Man Tour personal are not experienced or have any authority. The trip got out of hand with people comlaining.After the cruise we disembarked in the am and had all day til 11.45 pm to kill. Your Man Tour offered a Day room at the Haciena in LA for $30.00 per person. We waited an hour and a half because no rooms were reserved for about fourty people.

Upon asking for a refund we were told to call customer serve by a your man rep. I taked to President Bill Price on the ship and his attitute was, you got what you paid for. YMT stands for Your Miserable Trip

Because of the tour guides inexperience, we missed important focal points of our trip. Because of the numerous bus breakdowns, we were late going to scheduled events, or sometimes waited hours for rescue buses. There was no tour representative on our excursions which made seven full buses impossible to handle by the bus drivers/tour guides. My husband and I were compensated by Your Man Tours 50% for the tour we took to Sonoma since we never got there - the compensation was $60. I sent two letters asking for reimbursement for our trip, the last letter asking for a specific amount of $600 but have heard nothing. Our total cost of trip, not including side trips was $2,814.00 for two persons.

The company responds:

person future travel coupon.

YMT brochure stated "A professionally trained and accredited tour driver (licensed, bonded and insured). "They are knowledgeable on the local area and provide you with a wealth of information. their friendly service will make your trip a memorable experience" The bus driver who picked us up from the airport (Adrian - Coach U.S.A.) told us not to trust the bus drivers because they lie to you!! How true that statement became as we set out on our tour.

We were promised so much and received so little! The entire trip was a continual frustration for ourselves and the other 4 couples we were travelling with and for new friends we met on our bus (#5). Frank (?) spoke to us at the Hacienda hotel in Los Angeles and stated that because there were so many of us travelling on this tour that we would see him along the way! We saw no one! No one was co-ordinating the trip! It was a fiasco! Every day was stressful and full of surprises. Everyone stayed at different hotels - only a few breakfasts were included. We were told to find grocery stores and have our breakfast before leaving.

Several times we would do this and the buses would stop at a fast food restaurant. The hotels chosen were often in isolated places and no instructions were given as to the area and what was available. Several nights were told to pack an overnight because they weren't taking our luggage off the bus. Too many times we were carrying our own luggage to the rooms. Many of the hotels were inadequate (Bus #5). In Fresno no instructions were given that the Red Roof Inn had an elevator. The buses parked at the back and we removed our own luggage - some to the 2nd floor. At this hotel we had dirty sheets and the only other room available was a smoking room.

At 11:30 pm at night after packing up and moving only to find this out we returned to our original room. We turned the sheets over and went to bed. We took an optional tour to Lake Havasu. A boat cruise which was crowded with standing room only and no life jackets proved to be quite unenjoyable. Some people were left behind because the time was changed.

At Oatman we arrived late and most of the shops were closing. No gunfight etc. as promised. We were always rushing with no time to relax! Our bus was inspected by the Highway Patrol and taken off the road with a cracked rotor. We stood by the road for 2 hours waiting to be transferred and divided up into the 6 other buses. Each bus could only take a few. We missed this time in Yosemite. Our bus also had problems the next day and we had to stop 3 times for a fan belt which kept breaking.

In San Francisco we had to change buses because our air conditioning was not working! Constantly waiting in long lines for bathrooms when we would stop. No instructions as to where facilities were and how many there were. We were to spend the day in Las Vegas and have a City Tour. We had 2 hours on Fremont Street (just long enough to find a place to eat). We were then driven out of the city to Primm. Our rooms were not ready and we were dropped off at a mall for one hour. Restaurants were closed at Buffalo Bills, their were no shows as promised. McDonald's didn't even open on time and people were rushed to eat.

It was Fleet Week in San Francisco and an Air Show was scheduled for the day we arrived. We were herded many blocks to the dock for our optional tour of the Bay! So many people! Lineups for meals and bathrooms. Because of our bus problems that day we had to board (Fawn's bus). She was a reckless driver and very rude to us and to pedestrians on the street. In San Francisco extra people on our bus were made to walk in the dark to their hotel by Adrian. He boarded our bus and demanded people get off and walk with him. "He would carry them if necessary". We were told we were a negative bus!!

A tour of Sonoma was cancelled and a wine tour that was nothing but a sales pitch proved to be an upsetting day for most. Many were looking forward to the optional tour of the wine country - it sounded so exciting on the itinerary. I could go on and on but I think you get the picture! Our vacation that we paid for proved to be very stressful for the 15 days we were away and for the days that followed trying to deal with this company. We called YMT twice the day our bus broke down 3 times from a cell phone on the bus. We requested a meeting with the President upon our return.

The company responds:

Frank of St. Thomas

1. He said that only a few breakfasts were included. This was because the hotels

wanted to offer it to the tour, Breakfast is not included in our tours.

2. Frank said that it was Fleet Week and there were a lot of people in San Francisco

when they arrived. We were not aware of it being fleet week this was an honest mistake.

gave them a $100.00 future travel coupon.

We wondered how seven buses of people traveling together could be accommodated at restaurants, hotels and tour sites along the way, but were assured by YMT representatives in Los Angeles that they would be with us at all times to ensure that all went well.

Here is what my husband & I personally experienced on this trip.

1. We never saw a YMT rep until we arrived back in Los Angeles on October 12, 2005. The bus drivers were expected to be tour guides, baggage handlers and trouble shooters.

2. Our bus experienced five mechanical breakdowns which constantly put us behind schedule and resulted in the cancellation of stops or tours advertised by YMT. These constant breakdowns also made us late getting into our hotel accommodations which in turn often made it difficult to find a dining establishment to serve us at such a late hour.

3. Restaurants along the way were unable to accommodate all of the buses and we were often left scrambling to get something to eat and washroom breaks.

4. Our accommodations were generally in areas where it was difficult to get to restaurants for meals. We often had to buy food at grocery or convenience stores and eat in our room or on the bus.

5. Our optional tours which we paid extra money for were rushed due to bus breakdowns, poor scheduling etc. A boat cruise that we took at Lake Havasu on October 3rd. 2005 was in our opinion unsafe as the number of passengers on board outnumbered the life jackets! Due to the number of people on board, it was also difficult to see much of the sights.

The Bay cruise from Pier 39 in San Francisco was particularly stressful as our seven busloads of people were booked to arrive the same day as the Blue Angels, the 49’ers and it was also Fleet week. The traffic was horrendous and by the time our bus driver was finally able to park the bus we had to race to the pier to get our tickets for the cruise. Crowds of people made it difficult to get anywhere, see anything or find a place to eat in the time allotted. In our opinion this was very poor planning on the part of YMT.

The company responds:

1. She said that there were seven buses theat traveled together, this is because we

had a lot of interest in this tour so we added more buses.

2. The bus had mechanical breakdowns we are very sorry that this happened but

travel.

When the tickets arrived 10 days before departure we found we were routed Atlanta/New York, taking us over 24 hours from our Florida home to the Rome hotel. I suffer from a medical condition refered to as Travelers Thrombosis. Even while wearing surgical stockings, extended periods sitting in a cramped plane seat causes my legs to swell and burst the blood vessels. This is extremely dangerous and something we try to avoid by always taking the shortest route.

We spoke to travelers from Toronto who were routed to Miami/Rome. We contacted the California office and were told it would cost us another $900 to make the change to fly this much quicker, shorter route. We had already been asked to pay an extra $100 for a requested earlier flight, this we agreed to. Two weeks later, we were told they required an additional $100, again we agreed.

Some tours in Italy that were indicated to be inclusive were not included and required additional payment in Euros. Our guide in Italy, Alicia, worked hard to cancel a tour we had paid for. Her comment; "There is not much to see. You will jump out of the bus, take a picture of the leaning tower, and then get back on the bus." After much argument we visited Pisa. She admitted that this was her first and probably last time she would work with YMT.

There were 400 plus YMT travelers booked on this 23-day transatlantic cruise/land tour, yet unlike the other travel companies, YMT representation was zero. Our problems were minor compared to some of the stories we heard from fellow YMT travelers. Some phoned and faxed their concerns at their own expense (15 Euro for a fax from the hotel) from Italy shows these were not minor complaints. YMT may have been an efficient travel broker in the past but our first experience with this company will be our last. My wife wrote to YMT shortly after our return detailing our complaints and expressing our disappointment with the service received.

The company responds:

1. They complained about the airline schedule that they had. If they needed special

also did get a $100.00 per person future travel coupon.

The hotels were moderate to the very end . Some of them have a very bad mold problem which I feel has a major effect on ones health. I feel we have been taken to the 'cleaners' for trusting your firm and booking agent

The company responds:

Geraldine of Wauwatosa, WI

1. Our ticketing department works under a contract with the airlines and gets the

2. This is an affordable tour that is why the rooms are moderate as she said.

While we paid our full cruise and land payment about 4 months ahead of time Our flight tickets arrived only the day before the cruise when we were panicking as to whether or not we would receive them. Everyone we spoke to on the cruise told us similar stories. We didn't receive our actual cruise tickets until we were in Italy just before departure on the ship. There were coupons in the cruise package we could have used, but we didn't receive the packge on time. We felt we had absolutely no support from Your Man Tours and could have done this booking totally on our own or through any travel agent.

There were hundreds of people on board ship booked through Your Man Tours from all over the US and Canada and each person we talked to (and there were a great many we spoke with) Everyone is totally disgusted with the way YMT handled thier end of the booking. The arrival back in Fort Lauderdale was completely confused. The flight bookings were all mixed up and everyone had to scramble to make their flights and transfers. YMT was totally unreliable. We will cruise again, but never book with Your Man Tours.

The company responds:

Bonnee of Omemee Canada

was late in getting the tickets to us.

At that time Debra told me that they were already taking bookings for next year and that I could request that my deposit be used for next year's trip. She also told me that when I got the final papers from California to write on it that I was unable to go this year but to put the $100 deposit towards next year's reservations and mail it back to them. I did exactly that. Then I received a call from California telling me that they would not use this deposit towards next year's reservation.

The company responds:

1. She was mis informed deposits can not be transferred to new date

After several phone messages to a Mr. Kessler, He finally returned our call. He said that we would only receive half of our tour price back and that the travel protection only covered personal loses. In the travel protection document there is an unforeseen emergency clause, that does not state specifics. At this time we fell terrified to fly or cruise, now that the country is at the brink of a conflict with foreign nations and or terrorists. If this doesn't fall in the unforeseen emergency clause, I don't know what would!